I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to powered devices that separate used litter from unused litter when cleaning poultry facilities More specifically, this invention pertains to an apparatus that quick couples to a conventional bucket to remove caked litter from a poultry house and a method of using the apparatus. Prior art may be found in U.S. Class 209 and the various subclasses thereunder.
II. Description of the Prior Art
As will be recognized by those skilled in the art, litter is often placed on the floor of a poultry facility or the like to maintain reasonably sanitary conditions therein. The litter, often comprised of sawdust, wood shavings, chips, hulls etc., absorbs excretions and/or excess water to prevent the flock from being constantly exposed to disease causing contaminants. This litter layer is usually about two inches thick.
As time passes, the absorbed materials eventually saturate the uppermost layer of litter (generally the first half inch of litter). The saturated litter forms an impenetrable crust that is commonly referred to as a "caked" layer. The "caked" layer prevents subsequent excretions from being properly absorbed by the relatively clean litter underneath the caked layer. The caked layer also causes an undesirable buildup of ammonia gas. Thus, the facility must be periodically cleaned to remove the used litter to maintain sanitary conditions.
A simplistic solution would be to remove all of the litter, including the caked top layer and the unused litter underneath. However, this solution would waste litter that was not yet saturated by contaminants. Since wasted litter is expensive to replace, a more practical approach is to scrape off and remove the top caked layer while leaving the unused litter underneath Several prior art methods and machines have been proposed to retain clean litter while removing filthy caked litter.
A traditional method of removing contaminated caked litter from poultry facilities or houses employs small tractors equipped with front end buckets and/or small front end loaders (commonly referred to as "skid-steer" loaders) Further, since most chicken houses have ceilings varying from 6 feet to 12 feet, larger tractors and/or front end loaders simply will not work inside the houses.
To clean the house, the operator drives the tractor or front end loader about the house while only scraping off the top caked layer with their front bucket. Since both of these machines are quite maneuverable, they may be adeptly driven in the tight confines of most facilities to quickly clean it.
Unfortunately, this "free hand" method of scraping demands a skilled and patient operator to enjoy any degree of success. Furthermore, even seasoned operators have trouble differentiating the caked top layer from the clean litter underneath since the front blade of the bucket is hidden during scraping. As a result, the "free hand" method usually collects too much clean litter with the caked litter.
Machines known as "caking" machines have been developed to overcome the difficulties associated with "free hand" scraping. Caking machines increase both the speed and efficiency of scraping by also separating the litter. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,897,183, 3,738,579, 3,483,960, 3,263,257, 3,412,943, and 5,297,745 all show similar caking machines.
All of the known caking machines are intended to be pulled behind a draft vehicle (ie., a tractor or the like) to clean a house. As the caking machines are pulled over the litter, a front blade scrapes across the litter to remove the top and adjacent layers. Generally, a hydraulic motor powers an intermediate screened conveyor that separates the caked litter from the unused litter as the litter moves longitudinally. The caked litter is then dumped into an integral collecting bed while the unused litter is returned to the floor.
One vexatious problem experienced with known caking machines involves their lack of maneuverability. In other words, the articulated combination of the tractor and the caking machine is exceptionally difficult to drive inside a typical poultry house. This is especially problematic in house corners where the caking machines always leave an uncleaned area because of their articulated structure.
Another problem arises with dumping the collected caked litter. Since the caked litter is ordinarily quite rich in nitrates and other plant nutrients, it is normally spread over a nearby field as fertilizer to dispose of it advantageously While a few of the known caking machines may also be used as spreaders, most caking machines must be unloaded and the litter transferred to a different machine for spreading (i.e., a fertilizer truck or buggy or the like).
The accumulated caked litter is normally dumped outside the house in a convenient pile during cleaning. In order to dump, the operator must discontinue scraping and drive outside the house. Such a disruption can easily cause the operator to forget the cleaning cessation location. Moreover, the articulated tractor and spreader combination is difficult to back up and turn around Consequently, most operators simply drive forward over the uncleaned litter. This forward movement contributes to operator confusion since the caking machine often wipes out the delineation between clean and uncleaned litter. Of course, this problem could be overcome if the operator only dumped when trips through the house were finished. However, dumping unnecessarily is inefficient and time consuming.
When finished cleaning the house, the pile of caked litter is loaded into a spreader. Often, the tractor pulling the caking machine is also used to load the dumped litter into the spreader. If so, time is wasted when uncoupling and recoupling the caking machine. A proposed solution for this dilemma involves using caking machines that double as spreaders. However, these types of caking machines are even more hindered when collecting caked litter. For example, spreaders typically have large "flotation" type wheels to traverse fields while carrying heavy loads of litter. The flotation wheels help prevent the spreaders from getting stuck in wet and/or muddy areas. Further, it is desirable for spreaders to have large capacities so that trips from the house to the field are minimized. However, both of these characteristics only accentuate maneuverability problems to inside the confines of a conventional poultry house.
Thus, an efficient caking machine that maneuvered more easily inside a conventional poultry house would be a significant improvement. A caking machine that facilitated operations in corners and adjacent support columns would be an especially desirous improvement. An ideal caking machine would combine the maneuvering characteristics of conventional bucket equipped tractors and/or front end loaders with the separating abilities of conventional caking machines.
A caking machine that simplifies and quickens the transfer of collected litter to a spreader would also be desirable. Such a machine would ideally quick couple to the draft vehicle. A machine that permitted the operator to couple and uncouple the draft vehicle without leaving his seat would be particularly desirable. Also, if the caking machine was left in place during litter dumping, it would desirably eliminate confusion regarding the location of cleaning cessation.